Fireworks are No Joke. Avoid a Trip to the Lufkin ER This Week.
It's been a year since Jason Pierre-Paul of the New York Giants injured his hand in a gruesome fireworks accident, and he's been doing quite a few interviews lately about he dangers of fireworks. Have you seen the pics? They look like something out of the movies. Don't eat first.
Visits to ERs in East Texas will be up this week because of fireworks-related injuries, but you can protect yourself. Here's how.
If you're squeamish, do not go looking around on the internet for pictures of Jason Pierre-Paul's had after the fireworks accident last July 4th. It's awful. I know that makes you want to, so here's a link to the Sports Illustrated article that has them.
Newsweek says the most injured body parts are the hands, fingers, and eyes. There's a big category of "unspecified" fireworks causing the most injuries, and that could mean anything from Roman Candles to Bottle rockets, but the other types that produce blood and burns are Sparklers and regular old firecrackers. The injuries hit guys the most, over gals- 74 percent to 26 percent.
Tips to Protect Yourself, according to KidsHealth:
Buy ready-made fireworks and don't make your own.
Light one at a time.
Make sure the fireworks are space-appropriate and have enough room to do what they're supposed to do.
Don't let kids light them.
If it doesn't go off when you think it should, leave it alone and don't go over to check.
Soak them before you throw them away.
And leave it to the pros, and check out the public displays! We'll see you at Ellen Trout Park and Zoo on the 4th. Click HERE for all the info.